Fears of further turmoil on Russian markets

Overall, the Moscow International Currency Exchange has fallen 25 % just in the past three days. Experts fear the slide will continue into October, when end-of-year corporate results could trigger more bank collapses.

The Government has held crisis talks with the Central Bank after the RTS and MICEX slumped to their lowest this century.

After Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, have passed into history, further bankruptcies are feared when the U.S. financial year ends September 31st. That could have a knock-on effect worldwide according to Evgeny Nadorshin, Chief Economist at Trust Bank

“In the first two weeks in October we might hear a lot of, say, uncomfortable news from the United States markets. This news may drive us down, irrespectively of how stable we feel ourselves at this moment.”

Yaroslav Lissovolik, Chief Economist at Deutsche Bank Russia says the current meltdown should force a restructure of the Russian financial system.

“The concern clearly is with regard to the fate of the stock market. What is needed is clear signal such as tax reduction, issues pension reform, the regulation of the banking system.”

Some financial chiefs have now lost their public cool. “We are heading for an unprecedented financial crisis” the head of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn warned Wednesday.